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A catch straight out of the deep blue sea
A rare event is said to happen once in a blue moon. But a blue moon has nothing on a blue lobster.
Canadian lobster boat captain Bobby Stoddard said he and his crew were hauling in their lobster traps one day in early May when one of the men called out, "Hey, we got a pretty one in this trap!"
"I turned around and said, 'Holy smoke!' " said Stoddard, 51, of Clarks Harbour, Nova Scotia.
In the trap with three other, ordinary greenish-brown lobsters was a remarkably bright blue one, the first lobster of that hue Stoddard had seen in his 33 years of fishing for a living.
"This is the only one that I've ever seen," he told CNN. "And my dad has been a lobsterman of about 55 years, and he caught one about 45 years ago, but hadn't seen one since."
Bobby Stoddard, lobster hunter
Stoddard captains one lobster boat, his father another, and his three brothers work with them. On a good day, they haul in about 3,000 of the crustaceans, he said. Multiply that times 33 seasons, and that's a lot of lobsters. But only one blue one.
According to the University of Maine Lobster Institute, blue lobsters are a one-in-2-million phenomenon. A genetic variation causes the lobster to produce an excessive amount of a particular protein that gives it that azure aspect.
Stoddard offered his find (a male, by the way) to a nearby ocean research institute, but "they didn't seem too interested," he said.
His girlfriend pushed him to offer it for sale for on the classified-ad site Kajiji.com, he said. Having no idea what the market for a 1.5-pound blue lobster might be, he priced it at $200.
"I wanted to put a number high enough on it so nobody would be interested in it," Stoddard confessed.
However, he said he started to get some "weird" phone calls and e-mails scolding him for trying to sell such a rare creature, so he canceled the ad.
"I'm kind of a shy guy," he said. "When things get controversial, I kind of go hide. This is what I do for a living; I catch lobsters and sell them. I'm just trying to do the right thing. I thought, 'I just don't need this hassle.' "
For now, the cerulean crustacean is residing comfortably in a nice, cold holding tank at Stoddard's business, feeding on bits of fish and mollusks as normal. A massive aquarium is under construction near the CN Tower in Toronto, but Stoddard hasn't decided whether to offer his specimen for display there.
"I don't know what the best thing is to do," he said. "It probably belongs back in the ocean, but I'd like for as many people as possible to see it."
Related stories:
Blue lobsters aren't the only rare ones - what about calico lobsters?
And then of course, there are always really, really big lobsters as well.
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He shouldn't discriminate and cook him up right away.
scolding him for selling it? do they know it's going to be sold anyway? if they're that concerned with such rarity those people should buy it and do whatever they think is the proper thing (i'm not even sure what that would be...?) i think smaller lobster-like things do come in that color. i've seen them in aquarium stores..maybe crayfish?
toss it back!
"When things get controversial, I kind of go hide." Way to go, studly.
Please put that blue lobster back in the North Atlantic where is belongs!
If they were all blue and you found a red one would you still eat it or think its the devil? Give it to an aquarium. The next guy who catches it won't call the news.
yes, please, more blue lobsters! put him back! 🙂
It would look good as a hood ornament.
DONT THROW IT BACK IT MIGHT BE CAUGHT AND KILL BY ANOTHER FISHERMAN BUT DO GIVE IT TO THE NEW AQUARIUM PLACE IT WILL HAVE BETTER ODDS WHILE PEOPLE WILL BE ABLE TO SEE IT
MESSAGE TO MR. BOBBY STODDARD,
There is an underwater photographer that would be very interested in your catch of the day. He has been looking for ages to find one and capture it "on film", although it would be digital in these days and ages. Write me a note and I will put the two of you in contact. He is a reputed photographer that has written several books on marine life. Thank you.
Affirmative action at its best....giving special privileges to the minority due to the color of its skin (or shell). Do the right thing and give it an equal opportunity to be served hot on a plate!
ALL glory to God for His awesome creations.
Well for $200 anyone could adopt it and do whatever they feel is right. You pay more than that for getting a dog or cat from a no kill shelter. The guy catches and sells lobsters, it's what he does.
He must breed this blue lobster. The name of the restaurant chain kind of writes itself...
Hahahaa...Sir, you are pure genius. I agree with you.
I saw the photo. Let it go.